


Glimpse

by Goldy



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-28
Updated: 2014-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-08 19:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1952544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldy/pseuds/Goldy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i> Donna traces the worn edges; suddenly quite sure that she’s looking at a photograph of Rose.</i> Set post Partners in Crime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glimpse

A soft crunching noise catches Donna’s attention. She glances down at the grating. It’s a photograph; its edge now caught under the toe of her boot.

She gives a cursory glance around the console room. There’s still no sign of the Doctor.

She bends down to pick it up. She leans her hip against the pilot’s chair, blowing dust off the surface of the photo to get a good look.

It’s the Doctor (wearing the brown suit again—honestly, _when_ does he do laundry?). There’s a blonde girl with him, and they’re facing each other, laughing at a private joke.

They’re sitting on a couch Donna doesn’t recognize, in a living room that’s cluttered but seems warm and homey. The girl’s got her legs draped across the Doctor’s lap. Her face is turned up towards his, wide smile on her face. They’re holding hands and their linked fingers rest on her knees. They seem wholly oblivious to everything else around them.

The sides of the photograph are frayed and the corners are smudged with thumbprints. Donna traces the worn edges; suddenly quite sure that she’s looking at a photograph of Rose.

She smiles at the sparkle in the girl’s eyes. Lance used to make her feel like that… a long time ago.

Donna shakes her head to push those memories away and then returns to studying the picture. What did it mean when the Doctor said “lost,” really? Was Rose still out there somewhere, still hoping that he’d come back for her?

Donna frowns, some sort of hidden memory nagging at the back of her mind. It almost feels like she’s seen Rose before. Like she knows what to look for. Donna tilts her head to one side, drawing the picture closer to her face.

The sound of a throat clearing makes her jump. She scrambles to stand up straight, whipping the photograph behind her back like she’s been caught stealing candy.

She slowly raises her head to meet the Doctor’s gaze. He looks a bit stunned, but then schools his face into a neutral frown.

Donna sighs. What’s the point in hiding it? Anyway, Gramps always said talking was the best medicine.

She draws the photograph out from behind her back, holding it up so the Doctor can get a good look at it.

“Does this belong to you?” she asks mildly.

The Doctor looks extremely uncomfortable. “Yes.” He scratches the back of his neck. “I thought you might like—”

“Is that Rose?”

The Doctor’s gaze snaps to hers, eyes dark and worried. “Yes,” he says again.

“I thought so.” Donna smiles down at the picture. “When was it taken?”

The Doctor relaxes slightly at this line of questioning. He reaches for the photo and Donna hands it to him, noting the way his fingers fiddle at the corners. That’s where the smudge marks came from, then.

He stares down at the photo like it might hold the key to unraveling the universe.

“I don’t know. Jackie—that was her mother, Rose’s mum—took it when we popped by for a visit. We didn’t even notice. I suppose it could have been any time. It was just… an ordinary day. An unremarkable, every, ordinary sort of day.” He swallows. “I found it later—when I went back to her estate after….”

He trails off, voice going quiet. He continues to study the picture.

“After what?” Donna pushes. “Doctor, isn’t there some way that—”

“No,” he says firmly. He looks at her. “I… no, there isn’t.”

They stare at each other. Donna searches for something to say. “You look happy. You both do.”

The Doctor hesitates. “Yeah.” Without another word, he opens his suit-jacket and dumps the photograph into one of his pockets. “Ready to go?”

Donna feels a stab of disappointment, but the Doctor’s already moving towards the door. With a shrug, she grabs her jacket off the hook and goes to follow him, pushing the familiar face out of her mind.


End file.
